1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a new construction of a suction cleaner nozzle of a type having a power driven rotary brush mounted within the nozzle housing; and having a housing bottom plate formed with a nozzle inlet opening adjacent the rotary brush; and also having adjustable nozzle supporting wheels located within the housing and projecting through openings in the bottom plate; and also having a wheel height adjusting mechanism located within the nozzle housing; and also having a motor located in the nozzle housing for driving the rotary brush; and also having suction passages in the housing leading from the nozzle opening to a tubular connector which is detachably connected with the lower end of a wand that also may carry an electrical supply cord to supply power to the rotary brush motor.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Prior art power nozzles such as shown, for example, in Martinec et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,818,540 and 4,023,234 frequently include a main nozzle housing member formed of molded plastic material. Such main housing member usually has a generally rectangular cup-shaped form with integral top, end, front and back walls. The main housing member is closed with a metal housing bottom plate which is removable from the main housing member for gaining access to several compartments formed by the bottom plate and the main cup-shaped member and partitions extending from the top wall of the cup-shaped member. One of these compartments forms a nozzle mouth in which a power driven rotary brush is located. The partitions extending from the top wall of the cup-shaped housing member to the removable bottom plate also form a main suction passage or duct communicating between the nozzle mouth and a tubular connector for the wand. The other compartment contains the brush drive motor, the drive belt, the supporting wheels, and the wheel adjusting mechanism.
No true and effective seals against air flow between the two compartments in the prior structures have been provided. As a result, such prior power nozzles generally have been plagued with a problem relating to lint which collects in both compartments in the nozzle housing.
Such lint collects and builds up in the nozzle mouth and main suction duct connecting between the nozzle mouth and the tubular connector. Lint also collects and builds up within the other compartment in and around the brush drive motor and the adjusting mechanism for the wheels. If an electrical defect happens to occur in the brush drive motor, the motor may heat up and can set fire to the lint collected adjacent the motor. There have been instances of such fires.
Also, lint builds up in the main suction duct may have a sufficient volume to reduce the amount of air flow from the power nozzle through the wand to the main tank unit to prevent proper cooling of the main motor in the tank. As a result, the main motor heats up and can burn out since cooling is dependent upon an adequate volume of main air flow.
Further, such prior power nozzles usually are sold as attachments for tank type suction cleaning apparatus for use in power driven brush suction rug cleaning operations.
Such tank type suction cleaning apparatus and their power nozzle attachments frequently are sold following household demonstrations and under time-payment contracts. At times, such apparatus and power nozzles are repossessed as a result of the customer deciding not to purchase the apparatus or failing to make the purchase payments for the apparatus.
The outer molded surface of the plastic cup-shaped main nozzle housing member when new desirably has an attractive, smooth polished surface. This surface, however, frequently becomes scratched, marred or otherwise streaked in use from rubbing against furniture or other articles when performing a cleaning operation. This detracts from and mars the appearance of the polished plastic material housing member surface.
Despite the fact that the various mechanical devices and mechanisms within such power nozzle may be in perfect condition and almost new when a power nozzle attachment is repossessed; the marred or scratched appearance of the outer plastic housing member surface prevents the power nozzle from being reconditioned for later sale or use without completely dismantling the entire unit and reassembling the parts thereof in a new main plastic nozzle housing member. Such tearing down and reassembling of an entire suction cleaner power nozzle unit to replace the main plastic nozzle housing member is very costly and economically undesirable.
Another known prior art power nozzle, quite different from those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,818,540 and 4,023,234, has a housing formed by a removable metal top plate and a main bottom member having a bottom wall substantially flush with the nozzle mouth. The nozzle mouth opening lips are formed by a separate removable narrow metal plate having opening slots immediately below the power driven rotary brush. A special nozzle mouth compartment for the unit is formed by a narrow elongated component, half-round in cross section, located above the nozzle lip forming metal plate. The rotary brush is mounted in the unit between the narrow metal lip opening plate and the narrow half-round component. This half-round nozzle mouth component is accessible for assembly and removal when the upper housing top plate is removed.
This prior power nozzle has three wheels or rollers that are journaled in recessed cavities formed in the underside of the main housing bottom member to the rear of the narrow metal lip forming plate. The wheels have a fixed location and are not adjustable and have no adjusting mechanism.
Thus, a need exists in the tank type suction cleaner field for a power nozzle construction of the general type described, which eliminates the "lint" problems, which enables a repossessed power nozzle having marred plastic nozzle housing member outer surfaces to be economically restored without disassembly and reassembly of the entire unit to present a new unblemished polished outer housing surface appearance, which is provided with supporting wheels some of which extend through openings in the nozzle housing bottom plate and are adjustable, and which also is provided with wheel height adjusting mechanism located within the nozzle housing in a compartment separate from that in which the brush motor is located.